This application makes reference to and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. Section 119 from an application entitled xe2x80x9cOPTICAL DEVICE MODULE HAVING HEAT TRANSFER MEDIUM VIA PHASE DEFORMATION,xe2x80x9d filed with the Korean Industrial Property Office on Jan. 30, 2001 and there duly assigned Ser. No. 2001-4278.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a technique of manufacturing an optical device module which requires temperature control, and more particularly to an optical device module having a heat transfer medium for overcoming non-uniform temperature distribution.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacturing stage of an optical device, it is necessary to control temperature for the stability of wavelengths as the temperature gradient in the optical device causes optical loss as well as wavelength variation. Thus, temperature should be uniformly distributed across the whole device. Accordingly, designs of a heat source and a heat dispersing plate have been considered important.
A conventional method of controlling the temperature of the optical device utilizes a heat source and a sensor in which the sensor reads the surface temperature of the optical device for providing a return control. The heat source and the heat-detecting sensor are typically coupled to the surface of the optical device. However, temperature distribution of the heat source and surface temperature fluctuates due to the unstable current supplied thereto. To address this problem, a heat transfer plate is installed between the heat source and the optical device so that the heat is transmitted from the heat source to the optical device through the heat transfer plate to control the temperature. To this end, a temperature sensor between the heat transfer plate and the optical device is provided to transmit a return control signal indicative of the current temperature of the device.
Despite the above attempts, a temperature gradient still exists across the heat transfer plate due to the size difference between the heat source and the heat transfer plate, thereby causing the temperature of the optical device to be distributed non-uniformly. As a result, the refractive index of the optical device or wavelength stability is influenced by the temperature gradient and degrades the performance of the optical device.
The present invention has been proposed to solve the foregoing problems of the related art. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an optical device module for preventing the degradation of an optical device due to non-uniform temperature distribution in the heat transfer plate, thus ensuring optimal performance by the optical device.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical device module with a heat transfer medium via phase transformation which includes an optical device that requires temperature control; a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the optical device; a heat source for generating heat; and, a heat transfer medium disposed between the heat source and the optical device with a number of heat pipes inside thereof.